BP Ledger, July 29 edition

EDITOR'S NOTE: BP Ledger carries items for reader information each week from various Southern Baptist-related entities, and news releases of interest from other sources. The items are published as received.

Today's BP Ledger contains items from:

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)

Campbellsville University

A. Larry Ross Communications

Star Song Music

Savvy Media

Robert P. George elected USCIRF chair; vice-chairs also elected

WASHINGTON (USCIRF) -- Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University and a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School, was elected July 23 as Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Professor George was appointed to the Commission in 2012 by Speaker of the House John Boehner and is serving his first term as a Commissioner.

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF's outgoing Chair and an appointee of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, announced Professor George's selection. "I have been honored to work alongside Professor George this past year in the struggle to guarantee religious freedom abroad for people of every faith and shade of belief. He is a true human rights champion whose compassion for victims of oppression and wisdom about international religious freedom shine through all we have accomplished this past year. Our bipartisan Commission is united in its admiration for Professor George's skills as an advocate and leader of the international religious freedom movement. The Commission is eager to continue its work under his able leadership."

Commenting on his election as Chair of USCIRF, George said, "I am deeply honored that my colleagues have entrusted me with this position of leadership. I have big shoes to fill: Dr. Lantos Swett is a visionary leader who brings people together and empowers them in support of international religious freedom. As our leader, she tirelessly and effectively promoted this most fundamental of human rights. It will be my constant endeavor to live up to her outstanding example as USCIRF works to ensure that the cause of religious freedom, understood in its most robust sense, is given the high priority it deserves in the formation and execution of U.S. foreign policy. While much has been accomplished, much remains to be done."

Prior to joining USCIRF, George served on the President's Council on Bioethics and as a presidential appointee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He also has served on UNESCO's World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a former Judicial Fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States where he received the Justice Tom C. Clark Award.

Professor George is a recipient of many notable honors, including the United States Presidential Citizens Medal and the Honorific Medal for Human Rights of the Republic of Poland.

An award winning teacher at Princeton, George is a prolific writer in the areas of moral and political philosophy, philosophy of law, and constitutional law and theory. His most recent book is Conscience and Its Enemies (ISI Books, 2013). His scholarly articles have appeared in the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, the Columbia Law Review, and other leading journals of law, philosophy, and political science. His writings also have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, National Review, the Boston Review, and the Times Literary Supplement.

A graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School, George holds a master's degree in theology from Harvard and a doctorate in philosophy of law from Oxford University, as well as honorary doctorates of law, letters, science, ethics, divinity, civil law, humane letters, and juridical science.

Also on July 23, two USCIRF Commissioners, M. Zuhdi Jasser and Dr. Lantos Swett, were elected as Vice-Chairs.

M. Zuhdi Jasser, appointed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in March 2012, is serving his first term on the Commission. He is president and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy which advocates for the preservation of the founding principles of the U.S. Constitution, liberty and freedom, through the separation of mosque and state. He is also a founding member of the American Islamic Leadership Coalition which represents a diverse group of reform minded American Muslim leaders. The son of Syrian immigrants, Dr. Jasser is a former Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy where he served 11 years. Dr. Jasser is a nationally recognized expert who is widely published and has spoken at hundreds of national and international events and given testimony to Congress on the value of the centrality of religious liberty in the contest of ideas within Islam. Dr. Jasser is the author of A Battle for the Soul of Islam and a physician currently in private practice in Phoenix Arizona specializing in internal medicine and nuclear cardiology.

Dr. Lantos Swett, also serving her first term at USCIRF, is President of the Lantos Foundation. As President of the foundation, which was founded in 2008, she works to carry on the human rights legacy of her father, the late Representative Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress. Dr. Lantos Swett teaches human rights and American foreign policy at Tufts University. She also served as Deputy Counsel to the Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee for then-Senator Joe Biden.

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (Campbellsville University) -- Campbellsville University's Technology Training Center will begin a new cosmetology certificate program Sept. 3, according to an announcement from Carol Sullivan, director of the Technology Training Center.

Applications for the program are now being taken, and interested students may apply online at www.campbellsville.edu by selecting apply now and then the cosmetology application.

Financial aid is available for the cosmetology program. Applicants will need to also complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and have information sent to CU.

Those in the class, which is limited to 20 students, will perform 1,800 clock hours in clinical classwork and scientific lectures with 450 minimum lecture hours for science and theory and 1,305 minimum clinic and practice hours and 45 hours of applicable Kentucky statues and administrative regulations.

Upon successful completion of the instructional/clinical program, Sullivan said, the graduate is prepared to take the apprentice cosmetology examination. After successfully passing the practical and written Kentucky state board exams, the student is a licensed apprentice cosmetologist.

She said licensed apprentice cosmetologists must serve a six-month apprenticeship under the direct supervision of a licensed cosmetologist.

Sullivan said the classes will begin three times a year - in September, January and May.

The program will be conducted at the Cosmetology Program Facilities at 210 Nancy Cox Drive in Campbellsville, and lecture hours will be in the Cosmetology Classroom Building, next to the Cosmetology Salon Building at 212 Nancy Cox Drive.

Clinic and practice hours will be in the Cosmetology Salon Building.

Sullivan said classes will meet from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday for 32 hours per week.

Students will spend the first 300 hours in fundamental class work and scientific lectures. After successful completion of the first 300 hours, students will have theory class each day from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m., then will have clinic and practice hours the remainder of each day.

The Cosmetology Salon Building will be open to the public for services by the students beginning in November 2013 and will be open Monday-Thursday from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.

For questions about the program, contact Sullivan at csullivan@campbellsville.edu or (270) 789-5392.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.

DALLAS (A. Larry Ross Communications) -- Sixty-two percent of donors surveyed in a Dunham+Company/Campbell Rinker national study said they are now using smartphones, yet only 10 percent have used their smartphone or tablet to make a contribution via a charity's website.

"More and more people are living their lives on smartphones and the reason so few have used their smartphones or tablets to make a donation is that charities are behind the curve optimizing their websites and giving forms for mobile," said Rick Dunham, President and CEO of Dunham+Company, a U.S.-based firm that provides fundraising consultation to charities around the world.

Thirty-two percent of donors indicated that their predominant use of smartphones or tablets was to access Facebook multiple times per day, with 45 percent saying they used their phones to go to Facebook at least daily. The second-highest usage was to access news feeds, with 23 percent saying they did so multiple times per day and 46 percent doing so at least daily.

The two other most popular uses of smartphones and tablets were accessing Twitter and visiting blogs. Fifteen percent said they used their smartphone or tablet to go to Twitter at least daily, and 8 percent said they visited blogs at least daily through those devices. In addition, 22 percent said they used their mobile device to visit the website, social media page or blog of their favorite charity, and 25 percent said they used their device to "like" or recommend a cause.

"With the majority of donors now using their smartphones to access social media and news feeds daily, charities must think mobile-optimization as a part of their social-media engagement strategy," Dunham said.

One in 10 donors surveyed had used their smartphone or tablet to make a contribution to a charity via the charity's website, compared to 9 percent who had made a contribution to a charity via text or SMS.

Not surprisingly, the use of mobile devices was more prevalent among the young. Eight-six percent of those under 40 indicated they use smartphones, compared to 53 percent of those 40-59 years old, and 36 percent of those 60 and older.

Only 1 out of 3 donors (33 percent) said they have a mobile tablet. However, 1 out of 4 donors (25 percent) who are 60 and older say they now use a mobile tablet.

There is also a greater likelihood that higher-income donors will possess these devices compared to the general donor, with 67 percent of those in households earning $75,000 or more owning a smartphone and 40 percent owning a mobile tablet.

The study was part of a Campbell Rinker Donor Confidence Survey conducted March 5-7, 2013 online among 408 adult donors who gave at least $20 in 2012. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

NASHVILLE (Star Song Music) -- To celebrate their illustrious 40-year career, Christian rock band, Petra, will release an exclusive CD project on July 30 featuring the band's biggest and most-loved songs. The standard edition of 40th Anniversary will include 27 of Petra's hits, while the deluxe edition (digital copy only) will include 37 songs. Both versions include a new recording titled "Holy Is Your Name."

"'Holy Is Your Name' is a thank you to all our fans, but mostly a thanks to God for all the wonderful years!" says Bob Hartman, founding member of Petra. "We are happy to include it on the 40th Anniversary compilation."

Compiled by Hartman, 40th Anniversary displays Petra's four-decade career of music and ministry featuring hits like "This Means War," "Beyond Belief," and "Creed." Long-time vocalist John Schlitt joined Hartman on a seven-city reunion tour this summer to share Petra's anniversary celebration with fans.

Over the course of their 40 years, Petra has released 24 projects, sold over 7 million albums, garnered four GRAMMY® Awards, 10 Dove Awards and several #1 radio hits. Considered the "pioneer" of Christian rock, the band has successfully paved the way for numerous artists and has helped create a new genre of rock music.

NASHVILLE (Savvy Media) -- Curb recording artist No Other Name recently wrapped its most successful fan mission event to date, 2013 "Mission Nashville," which gathered 100 fans, its largest group ever, for service activities surrounding Nashville's international community.

"Mission Nashville" kicked off on Friday, July 12 with service projects beginning on Saturday. Due to the large volunteer turnout, participants were divided up into teams, with each of No Other Name's three members heading up a different team. "Team Sam" spent the afternoon at a low-to-moderate income housing co-op where many refugees reside, working various construction tasks, while "Team Chad" was tapped for outreach opportunities at several kids' clubs comprising children of diverse nationalities.

Chad comments, "The kids we worked with were great. They participated in everything from volleyball to Bible story time. There were so many seed-planting opportunities. I was humbled to be part of it."

"Team Laura" initiated a prayer walk through different international sites in Nashville for the people who live and work there. She explains, "We prayed for their homes and their businesses. We prayed for the churches in the area, that they would be bold and creative in their ministries to internationals. And we prayed for the existing ministries that currently deal with the refugee population in Nashville, that they would be able to share the love of Christ with those who've never heard His name."

Laura's group also hosted a block party for the children at the housing community with food, games, and fellowship. She recalls of the experience, "We had about 50 kids show up! We played games with them, painted their faces, gave them candy and snow cones and most important, shared the Gospel with them. I loved seeing their happy faces as we loved on them."

For the last four years, No Other Name has sponsored an annual mission trip, inviting fans to participate in outreach areas like Managua, Nicaragua and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Last year, the group chose Nashville as its mission field, given the city's diverse international population with hundreds of people groups, spoken languages and cultures and, due to its popularity, decided to reprise the Nashville trip again this year.

Signed to Curb Records in 2008, No Other Name comprises brother-sister duo, Sam and Laura Allen, along with their friend Chad Smith. The group formed when the three attended a summer music conference at Nashville's Belmont University.

In 2011, No Other Name was recognized by industry and fans with a GMA Dove Award nomination for New Artist of the Year before releasing its first record. Later that year, the group made its national debut with The Other Side on Oct. 25, 2011. The album was a hit out of the gate, with Worship Leader magazine calling it "a must-have CD" and rhapsody.com describing the project as a "spiritual call to arms." Additionally, The Alabama Baptist touted, "f you buy only one CD this year, consider this one," while CCM Magazine declared "...No Other Name is a moniker poised to be on the tip of everyone's tongue."

No Other Name is a strong proponent of missions and partners with the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board to help recruit missionaries while joining the organization on trips to Nicaragua as well as Brazil. Most recently, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted No Other Name's song "Let It Start With Me" as its missions theme song. The track was used in conjunction with a music video for "Let It Start With Me," created by the IMB and distributed to more than 40,000 Southern Baptist Convention churches, as a missions recruitment tool.

For more information on No Other Name, visit www.noothername.com or follow the group on Twitter at www.twitter.com/noothername.